A Massive Haul of 800,000 Points! But Sakayanagi Arisu

Thinking of how he had just run around everywhere asking people where the Chess Club was, Toru Hasegawa wanted to slap himself twice.

Why, he wondered, did he have to be so diligent?

He had assumed that Sakayanagi Arisu was simply very interested in chess and wanted to join the school's Chess Club.

He never expected her to say she was going there to challenge them!

Although those weren't her exact words, that was how it sounded to Toru Hasegawa.

The die was cast, and since he had already asked, Toru Hasegawa had no choice but to knock on the door for Sakayanagi Arisu.

He really wondered if she was some rich young lady; her ability to order people around was absolutely top-tier!

Chess didn't seem like the kind of thing a child from a poor family would learn, either.

However... do rich people even attend this school?

Toru Hasegawa had originally thought that most of the students here were as destitute as he was, but it didn't seem that way now.

Whether it was Horikita or Sakayanagi Arisu, neither of them looked like girls raised in poverty.

"Who is it?"

The door to the activity room was opened from the inside, and a boy with a buzz cut appeared before them. At the same time, the voices of others could be heard from within; it seemed they were in the middle of club activities.

Toru Hasegawa silently stepped to the left so the boy could see Sakayanagi Arisu.

"If you're a first-year looking to join, come back tomorrow. We aren't accepting applications today."

The boy's assumption was the same as Toru Hasegawa's initial one; he thought Sakayanagi Arisu wanted to join the Chess Club.

"No, I'm not here to join you." Sakayanagi Arisu shook her head slightly, the corners of her mouth curling up. "I'm here to challenge you."

"Nani?"

He hadn't expected the petite girl in front of him to dare speak such bold words.

It was true that she was very cute, but she shouldn't think that would make the upperclassmen go easy on her. Cute was cute, but they would still beat her just the same.

"Did I hear that right? You're here to challenge us?"

Hearing the commotion at the door, another upperclassman stood up and walked over, and the boy with the buzz cut stepped aside.

He looked down into Sakayanagi Arisu's eyes, but she didn't show the slightest bit of timidity. The two stared at each other for a few seconds.

"Interesting." He cleared the way, signaling for the two to enter, and said to Toru Hasegawa, "Are you here to challenge us too?"

"No, I'm just the errand boy."

Toru Hasegawa said with an expressionless face.

He thought back to his actions earlier and really couldn't bring himself to be happy.

The afternoon passed in the blink of an eye.

Toru Hasegawa stared at Sakayanagi Arisu in shock, because just a moment ago, he had witnessed her personal account points rise from 400,000 to 800,000!

And to think, personal points could actually be used as chips?

Thinking back to how Sakayanagi Arisu had proposed using 100,000 personal points as a wager for their match from the very beginning, and how the opponent was only slightly surprised by the act of going all-in rather than the use of personal points themselves, Toru Hasegawa felt a sense of complexity.

Because she understood the hidden rules behind this school far more thoroughly than he did, and she had quickly thought of a way to use her own strengths to profit, while he had only been thinking about exploring slowly...

"Thank you for your time this afternoon."

Sakayanagi Arisu said politely to the numb-looking upperclassman, then prepared to stand up from the floor.

However, perhaps she had forgotten she had been sitting for too long, or perhaps she hadn't yet detached herself from the atmosphere of the chess match, but her legs went weak as she stood, and she stumbled, about to fall to the ground.

"Ah--!"

After a short cry of surprise, the expected pain did not come. Sakayanagi Arisu relaxed her body, withdrew the defensive posture she had instinctively taken, and slowly opened her eyes.

"How much longer are you going to stay in my arms?"

Toru Hasegawa said, speechless. He hadn't expected Sakayanagi Arisu to make such a low-level mistake.

Although he had anticipated it, the event happened before he could open his mouth to warn her.

So, he had lunged forward and caught the girl with his hands, preventing her from falling.

Even though the place his arms touched was somewhat improper, Toru Hasegawa felt no ripples in his heart at this moment; after all, no one would feel happy about touching a flat board.

Experience is the best teacher; Alice was truly flat-chested, not the type to have meat on her bones when stripped down.

"...Help me pick up my cane."

"Oh, right..."

He hurriedly handed the cane to the girl's right hand. Sakayanagi Arisu took a deep breath to calm her somewhat flustered heart.

Her slightly dizzy brain cleared, her vision gradually sharpened, and she used the cane to prop herself up.

"Let's go."

The upperclassmen watched the two depart, seemingly still immersed in the lingering shock of being dealt a blow by a first-year student.

"I'm such a fool, truly."

The boy who had played the final match against Sakayanagi Arisu muttered to himself. As the president of the Chess Club, he had actually fallen into the trap she set. Although he had noticed in the previous two games that she was hiding her true strength, he had assumed his own skills would be enough to handle her. He never expected...

"I should have realized that someone who dared to go all-in to challenge us wouldn't be someone acting without a plan. Sigh..."

"President... it's alright. Just consider it a lesson learned at a price..."

Soon, one of the upperclassmen pulled himself together and offered a word of comfort.

The April breeze blew wantonly outside the window, and the hearts of the few present swayed along with it.

"This year's freshmen... they aren't simple."

"I didn't expect Classmate Sakayanagi to be so skilled at chess. Even the president couldn't beat you. And you're quite mean, too—you only ever stayed just a little bit better than your opponent."

Toru Hasegawa wanted to use the afternoon's events as a starting point to discuss the true nature of this school with her, but only silence answered him.

"...Since you were able to react and catch me, it means you anticipated that I would have such an accident."

After a long while, Sakayanagi Arisu finally spoke, but she didn't mention the points won that afternoon; instead, she brought up the fall that had just occurred.

"Actually, I wanted to warn you, but it was already too late by then."

Toru Hasegawa said honestly.

Sakayanagi Arisu carefully observed the expression on his face as he spoke.

After a long time, she tapped her cane against the ground twice.

"You aren't lying this time."

Does that mean the lie from noon was seen through?

Toru Hasegawa thought indifferently; after all, Sakayanagi Arisu's attitude didn't seem like she intended to hold him accountable.

Just then, she used her left hand to take out the phone tucked into the folds of her skirt and tapped on it a few times. Immediately after, Toru Hasegawa's phone vibrated.

"Open it and take a look," she urged.

Toru Hasegawa opened his phone, and what met his eyes was a notification that she had transferred 100,000 private points to him.

Given that she had already received three transfers throughout the afternoon, such proficient operation was only to be expected.

He feigned confusion and asked, "This is...?"

"The compensation for this afternoon. Not just for helping me find the Chess Club, but also for the time you covered the difference when my bet was short of 100,000."

Sakayanagi Arisu didn't mention her fall at all, saying only that.

She judged that using points to buy him off was a viable strategy.

"Oh, I see... alright."

Toru Hasegawa nodded obediently. Only a fool would turn down money. He suddenly felt that accompanying her today was worth it!

Seeing the notification on her phone that he had accepted the transfer, Sakayanagi Arisu let out an imperceptible sigh of relief, then continued:

"I don't mind if you join me for dinner. Of course, it's my treat."

Even though she was as flat as a board, she was also a wealthy girl now.

Toru Hasegawa gladly accepted the invitation. Only a fool would pass up a free meal.

The two ate dinner together in the student cafeteria. Just like at noon, Toru Hasegawa ate two portions.

One was the free vegetable set meal, and the other was the set meal Sakayanagi Arisu treated him to, which was neither expensive nor cheap.

Unlike at noon, however, Sakayanagi Arisu did not choose the vegetable set meal, opting instead for the cheapest standard meal available.

Even so, the taste and portion size were far superior to the vegetable set meal.

After dinner, once the elevator doors opened on the third floor of the dormitory building, Toru Hasegawa finally regained his freedom.

He wouldn't be naive enough to think that Sakayanagi Arisu would harbor feelings for him after the events of the day; after all, her favorability rating above her head was only 40 at the very end.

Going from 10 to 40 in a single day was decent enough, though.

With these thoughts in mind, Toru Hasegawa returned to his room, took a refreshing shower to wash away the grime accumulated from a day of activity, and then lay on his bed to check his phone, seeing what everyone was chatting about in the class group.

Looking through it, however, the topics were basically all centered on the dream-like campus life of this school.

After reading for a while, Toru Hasegawa felt bored. He closed the chat app, scrolled through some videos for a bit, and then drifted into a deep sleep.

Today had started with waking up early to catch the bus, followed by an incredibly tedious entrance ceremony, and then spending the afternoon as unpaid—no, paid—labor. He was quite tired.